Cattelan
Fuck the system
Maurizio Cattelan jokes, provokes and makes fun of the art world, politics and rules of contemporary society, its values and paradoxes. All these aspects come through just in the titles of some of his works, like ‘Pope struck by a meteorite’, ‘Hitler on his knees’ or ‘Working is an unpleasant career’. This last work is a non-work, in the sense that in this case Cattelan did not make a work: he simply decided to give over his space to an advertising agency. The artist reached the peak of provocation with ‘L.O.V.E.’ a sculpture commonly known as ‘Finger’, which was placed ‘casually in front of the Stock Exchange in Milan, and which represents a hand with four fingers bent except for the middle finger. After an important exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2011, Cattelan announced his retirement from the art scene. But everyone knew that the art world would not be so easily rid of him! Which is why, today, we find him involved in a new creative venture called ‘Toilet Paper’. This magazine consists of photographs conceived in collaboration with the photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. Thanks to ‘Toilet Paper’, Cattelan has freed himself from having to court curators, persuade gallerists, meet museums, convince collectors, and explain everything to journalists. Finally Maurizio can express himself freely! …As if he had never done it…! *** Maurizio Cattelan’s biography was written by Maria Vittoria Scatiggio and Chiara Arisi from Venice’s Marco Polo Classical High School, as part of the work experience programme at Palazzo Grassi.
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Fuck the system
Maurizio Cattelan jokes, provokes and makes fun of the art world, politics and rules of contemporary society, its values and paradoxes. All these aspects come through just in the titles of some of his works, like ‘Pope struck by a meteorite’, ‘Hitler on his knees’ or ‘Working is an unpleasant career’. This last work is a non-work, in the sense that in this case Cattelan did not make a work: he simply decided to give over his space to an advertising agency. The artist reached the peak of provocation with ‘L.O.V.E.’ a sculpture commonly known as ‘Finger’, which was placed ‘casually in front of the Stock Exchange in Milan, and which represents a hand with four fingers bent except for the middle finger. After an important exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2011, Cattelan announced his retirement from the art scene. But everyone knew that the art world would not be so easily rid of him! Which is why, today, we find him involved in a new creative venture called ‘Toilet Paper’. This magazine consists of photographs conceived in collaboration with the photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. Thanks to ‘Toilet Paper’, Cattelan has freed himself from having to court curators, persuade gallerists, meet museums, convince collectors, and explain everything to journalists. Finally Maurizio can express himself freely! …As if he had never done it…! *** Maurizio Cattelan’s biography was written by Maria Vittoria Scatiggio and Chiara Arisi from Venice’s Marco Polo Classical High School, as part of the work experience programme at Palazzo Grassi.
